Lighting strip and lighting device

ABSTRACT

A lighting strip comprises a flexible printed circuit strip. The flexible printed circuit strip comprises a plurality of wiring portions and a plurality of carrying portions. The plurality of wiring portions are configured to supply electrical power to the plurality of carrying portions. The lighting strip comprises a plurality of solid-state lighting elements respectively disposed on the plurality of carrying portions. The plurality of wiring portions include at least one pitch adjusting portion configured to adjust a pitch between two adjacent carrying portions and to enable the flexible printed circuit strip to be arranged in a three-dimensional shape.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/735,143, filed Dec. 8, 2017, which is the U.S. National Stage, under35 U.S.C. § 371, of International Application No. PCT/EP2016/062520,filed Jun. 2, 2016, which claims the benefit of Chinese Application No.201520393430.4, filed Jun. 8, 2015, now Chinese Patent No.ZL2015203934304, issued on Feb. 24, 2016, the contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a lighting strip, andmore specifically to a lighting strip adapted to be bent horizontally orvertically to implement various three dimensional illumination.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Styling lighting is widely used in the industrial field, for example,used in a tail lamp, a brake lamp, combination lamp for an automobile,and a display panel for a display. Such lighting devices usuallycomprise a light-emitting element and a light guide, wherein lightemitted from the light-emitting element transmits through the lightguide and exits out of the light guide, thereby forming various lightshape patterns. However, to meet requirements for pleasant appearance,or requirements for specific light shapes, the light guide usually takesvarious three-dimensional shapes, e.g., the light guide has a differentcurvature. How to position the light-emitting element properly withrespect to the light guide to achieve uniform illumination is atechnical problem urgently to be solved in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In view of the above, one of the objectives of the embodiments of thepresent disclosure lies in providing a lighting strip and a lightingdevice, which can at least solve one or more of aforesaid technicalproblems existing in the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provideda lighting strip, comprising a flexible printed circuit strip whichcomprises a plurality of wiring portions and a plurality of respectivecarrying portions, wherein the wiring portions are used to supplyelectrical power to electric elements disposed on the carrying portions,and the carrying portions protrude from the wiring portions and areadapted to be bent around the wiring portions; a plurality ofsolid-state lighting elements respectively mounted on the carryingportions; wherein the wiring portion is provided with at least one pitchadjusting portion for adjusting a pitch between two adjacent carryingportions.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least onewiring portion of the plurality of wiring portions comprises a main bodyportion and at least one flexible arm extending protrudingly from themain body portion, and the pitch adjusting portion is comprised of atleast one flexible arm.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the flexible armis disposed between two adjacent wiring portions, and the flexible armis formed in a shape having an opening.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, opening directionof the opening is identical with or opposite to a direction in which thecarrying portion protrudes from the wiring portion.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the flexible armis U-shaped or V-shaped.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the flexible armis configured such that its arm portion can be folded in a horizontal orvertical surface to change opening degree of the opening and thus toadjust the pitch between two adjacent carrying portions and/or a lighttransmitting direction of the solid-state lighting elements mounted onthe two adjacent carrying portions.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the main bodyportion is provided with a welding pad for line connection and/or acontact for an individual connector.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the solid-statelighting element is a light-emitting diode.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided a lighting device, comprising a light guide member having alight incident surface and a light exit surface; and the lighting stripaccording to the first aspect; wherein the carrying portion of thelighting strip is arranged substantially opposite to the light incidentsurface so that light from the solid-state lighting element mounted onthe carrying portion transmits through the light incident surface intothe light guide member, and the pitch between two adjacent carryingportions of the lighting strip can be adjusted via the pitch adjustingportion.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the lightingdevice is used as a lamp for use in a vehicle.

According to the lighting strip and lighting device of embodiments ofthe present disclosure, with arranged the pitch adjusting portion, thepositions of the solid-state lighting elements on the carrying portions,particularly the positions relative to the lighting elements, can beconveniently and precisely adjusted, thereby achieving a desiredthree-dimensional styling illumination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

Now, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings only in an exemplary manner,wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a structural schematic view of a flexible printed circuitstrip according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a structural schematic view of a lighting strip accordingto one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 3 shows an application instance of a lighting strip according toone embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedin detail with reference to figures. It should be noted that likereference numerals may be used for like components or functionalassemblies in the figures. The figures are only intended to illustratethe embodiments of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art mayobtain an alternative embodiment from the description below withoutdeparting from the spirit and protection scope of the presentdisclosure.

The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detailwith reference to figures.

FIG. 1 shows a structural schematic view of a flexible printed circuitstrip 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2shows a structural schematic view of a lighting strip 100 according toone embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2,the lighting strip 100 according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure comprises a flexible printed circuit strip 10 and asolid-state lighting element 20.

The flexible printed circuit strip 10 comprises a plurality of wiringportions 12 and a plurality of respective carrying portions 14. Thewiring portions 12 are used to supply electrical power to electricelements disposed on the carrying portions 14, and the carrying portions14 protrude from the wiring portions 12 and are adapted to be bentaround the wiring portions 12. In an embodiment, the carrying portions14 protrude from the wiring portions 12 in a tooth shape, e.g., in arectangular tooth shape as shown in FIG. 1. It should be appreciatedthat according to needs, the carrying portions 14 may protrude from thewiring portions 12 in other various proper shapes so long as thecarrying portions 14 can carry the electric elements or lightingelements.

The wiring portions 12 and carrying portions 14 may be made from thesame material, e.g., a flexible polymer such as polyimide, polyester,ether ketone and polyether. As shown in FIG. 1, the carrying portions 14are adapted to be bent around a boundary between the carrying portions14 and wiring portions 12. Although FIG. 1 shows that the carryingportions 14 all are bent from the respective wiring portions 12, itshould be appreciated that the carrying portions 14 may be selectivelybent according to needs. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of solid-statelighting elements are respectively mounted on the carrying portions 14.The solid-state lighting elements 20 for example may be LEDs. In someembodiments, the wiring portions 12 and carrying portions 14 may be madefrom different materials, for example, the wiring portions may be madefrom an electrically conductive material.

An important characteristic of the embodiment of the present disclosurelies in that the wiring portion 12 is provided with a pitch adjustingportion 16 for adjusting a pitch between two adjacent carrying portions14. As the carrying portion 14 is adapted to be bent around a boundarybetween the carrying portion 14 and wiring portion 12, a mountingflexibility of the carrying portion 14 can be increased. In the casethat the pitch adjusting portion 16 is arranged, the mountingflexibility of the carrying portion 14 can be further enhanced.Specifically, in the case that the pitch adjusting portion 16 is notarranged, relative positions of two adjacent carrying portions 14 canonly be changed by bending to implement position adjustment, soadjustment amplitude is limited. For example, it is difficult toaccurately position the carrying portion with respect to the light guidemember for a complicated curved shaped light guide structure. With thepitch adjusting portion 16 being arranged, the relative positions of thetwo adjacent carrying portions 14 may be freely adjusted by the pitchadjusting portion 16, so that the lighting element 20 can be preciselypositioned and thereby an incident angle at which the solid-statelighting element 20 enters the light guide member can be preciselyadjusted.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least onewiring portion 12 of the plurality of wiring portions 12 comprises amain body portion 120 and at least one flexible arm 122 extendingprotrudingly from the main body portion 120, and the pitch adjustingportion 16 is comprised of at least one flexible arm 122. In such anarrangement, the pitch adjustment between wiring portions 12 can beeasily implemented through the flexible arm 122 located between twoadjacent wiring portions 12.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the flexible arm122 is disposed between two adjacent wiring portions 12, and theflexible arm 122 is formed in a shape having an opening 124. In such anarrangement, the pitch adjustment between wiring portions 12 can beeasily implemented through deformation of the opening 124.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the flexible arm122 opens in a direction identical with or opposite to a direction inwhich the carrying portion 14 protrudes from the wiring portion 12. Theopening direction of the opening 124 may realize free deployment of thecarrying portion 14 at any position of the lighting strip.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the flexible arm122 is U-shaped or V-shaped. As shown in FIG. 1, the U shape or V shapeopening direction of the U-shaped or V-shaped flexible arm 122 isopposite to the direction in which the carrying portion 14 protrudesfrom the wiring portion 12. According to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the U shape or V shape opening direction is identical withthe direction in which the carrying portion 14 protrudes from the wiringportion 12. The flexible printed circuit of the present embodiment issimple in structure, easy to implement and convenient to install.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the flexible arm122 is configured such that its arm portion can be bent (or folded) in ahorizontal or vertical surface to change the opening degree of theopening and thus to adjust the pitch between two adjacent carryingportions 14 and a light transmitting direction of the lighting elements20 mounted on the carrying portions 14. Upon installation, positions ofcarrying portions 14 at both ends of the flexible arm 122 may be easilyadjusted through the deformation of the flexible arm 122.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the main bodyportion 120 is provided with a welding pad 126 for line connectionand/or a contact 124 for an individual connector. In the case that themain body portion 120 and carrying portion 14 are made from the samematerial, power is supplied to an LED 20 by the welding pad 126 and/orcontacts 124. In an embodiment, both the welding pad 126 and contacts124 may be disposed on the main body portion 20 to increase selectivityfor connecting to the circuit. In another embodiment, only one of thewelding pad 126 and contact 124 may be selectively arranged.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, one of the wiringportions comprises one flexible arm. In another embodiment, one of thewiring portions comprises two flexible arms, for example, the flexiblearm is disposed respectively on both sides of one of the wiringportions. The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 shows that the wring portions12 at both ends of the flexible circuit strip 10 each have one flexiblearm 122, and wiring portions 12 in an intermediate section of theflexible circuit strip 10 each have two flexible arms. However, itshould be appreciated that this example is only for exemplary purpose,and the number of flexible arms may be selectively set according toneeds. In another embodiment not shown, some wiring portions may not beprovided with the flexible arm. The above-mentioned variations all fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows an application instance of a lighting strip according toone embodiment of the present disclosure. The inventive concept of thepresent disclosure can be made apparent through the application instanceof the lighting strip 10. It should be appreciated that for the sake ofclarity illustration, only carrying portions of the lighting strip 10are shown, a light guide member 200 is also illustrative, and only anincident surface of the light guide member 200 is shown.

As shown in the figure, the lighting device comprises a light guidemember 200 and a lighting strip 100. The light guide member 200 has alight incident surface and a light exit surface. The carrying portion 14of the lighting strip is arranged substantially opposite to the lightincident surface so that light from the solid-state lighting element 20mounted on the carrying portion 14 transmits through the light incidentsurface into the light guide member, and the pitch between two adjacentcarrying portions 14 of the lighting strip 100 can be adjusted via thepitch adjusting portion 16. As shown in the figure, the position of thecarrying portion 14 may be adjusted conveniently through flexibledeployment of the pitch adjusting portion 16 (flexible arm). In thisway, precise positioning of the lighting element 20 relative to thelight guide member 200 can be realized.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the lightingdevice is used as a lamp for vehicle. In another embodiment, thelighting device is used as a display panel of a display.

According to the lighting strip and lighting device of embodiments ofthe present disclosure, the positions of the solid-state lightingelements on the carrying portions, particularly the positions relativeto the lighting elements, can be conveniently and precisely adjusted,thereby achieving a desired three-dimensional styling illumination.

Through the teachings provided in the above description and relevantfigures, many modification forms and other embodiments of the presentdisclosure will be realized by those skilled in the art. Therefore, itshould be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure arenot limited to the preferred embodiments as disclosed; moreover, themodified forms and other embodiments are intended to be included withinthe scope of the present disclosure. Besides, although the abovedescription and relevant figures have described the exemplaryembodiments under the background of some exemplary combinations ofcomponents and/or functions, it should be aware that differentcombination forms of the components and/or functions may be provided byalternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In this case, for example, other combination forms ofcomponents and/or functions somewhat different from what have beenexplicitly described are also predicted to fall within the scope of thepresent disclosure. Although specific terms are employed here, they areonly used in their general and descriptive meanings, not intended forlimitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a plurality of wiringportions comprising at least one pitch adjusting portion between twoadjacent wiring portions such that the at least one pitch adjustingportion comprises at least one flexible arm having an opening; and aplurality of carrying portions such that at least one carrying portionprotrudes from a respective wiring portion.
 2. The device of claim 1,wherein the at least one pitch adjusting portion adjusts a pitch betweentwo adjacent carrying portions.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein theopening is V-shaped.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the opening isU-shaped.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one flexiblearm opens in a direction identical with a direction in which a carryingportion protrudes from a respective wiring portion.
 6. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one flexible arm opens in a directionopposite to a direction in which a carrying portion protrudes from arespective wiring portion.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the atleast one flexible arm is bendable or foldable in at least a horizontalposition and a vertical position.
 8. The device of claim 1 furthercomprising at least one light emitting element on at least one carryingportion.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein the at least one lightemitting element is a light emitting diode (LED).
 10. The device ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of wiring portions isconnected to an electrical power supply.
 11. The device of claim 1,wherein the plurality of carrying portions protrude from a respectivewiring portion in a rectangular tooth shaped pattern.
 12. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of wiring portions and the plurality ofcarrying portions are made of a same material.
 13. The device of claim1, wherein the plurality of wiring portions and the plurality ofcarrying portions are made of a flexible polymer.
 14. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of wiring portions and the plurality ofcarrying portions are made of a different material.
 15. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of wiring portions are made of anelectrically conductive material.
 16. The device of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the plurality of carrying portions is bent relative to itsrespective wiring portion.
 17. A device comprising: a plurality ofwiring portions comprising at least one pitch adjusting portion betweentwo adjacent wiring portions; and a plurality of carrying portions suchthat at least one carrying portion protrudes from a respective wiringportion and is bent relative to its respective wiring portion.